"Am I?" retorted the Tiger, with a sneer. "Tell me, then, into how many pieces you usually tear your victims, my bold Lion?"
The Lion impatiently thumped the floor with his tail.
"To tear anyone into pieces would soil my claws and blunt my teeth," he said. "I'm glad I didn't muss myself up this afternoon by hurting that poor mother."
The Tiger looked at him steadily and then yawned a wide, wide yawn.
"You're a coward," he remarked.
"Well," said the Lion, "it's better to be a coward than to do wrong."
"To be sure," answered the other. "And that reminds me that I nearly lost my own reputation. For, had I eaten that fat baby I would not now be the Hungry Tiger. It's better to go hungry, seems to me, than to be cruel to a little child."
And then they dropped their heads on their paws and went to sleep.
